SPEARVILLE - An idle crane stands amid sections of white
cylinders and aerodynamic blades that are piled on the ground along U.S. 50.

Just west in the horizon are the colossal towers of the Spearville
Wind Generating Facility spinning in the Kansas wind.

Motorists traveling along the highway, about 17 miles east of Dodge City,
might think a wind farm expansion is about to take place.

However, while the components are on hand for a future project, that's
months down the road, said Katie McDonald, spokeswoman for Kansas City Power
and Light, owner and operator of the facility.

Currently, enXco, a California company that developed
the wind farm, oversees the spinning turbines for Kansas City Power and
Light. When operating at a full load, the 67 towers produce 100.5 megawatts
of electricity per hour.

When the new towers do go up, it will be a separate project,
McDonald said.

"We plan to increase by another 100 megawatts by the
end of 2010, pending regulatory approval to proceed," McDonald said.
"We do own the 32 wind turbines on the ground and are currently in
discussion with multiple developers on how to proceed."

Kansas City Power and Light is also evaluating transmission
obstacles the company must overcome, she said.

As wind farms sprout up nationwide, a shortage of components
is a concern for many developers.

McDonald said purchasing the towers ahead of time gives the
utility company the flexibility to proceed with another wind project down the road.

The tower parts will remain in the field just off the highway
for now. Meanwhile, the particulars of a new wind project must be worked out before
Kansas City Power and Light can proceed.

SPEARVILLE - The 67 turbines of the Spearville Wind
Energy Facility are up, and some are even generating electricity.

Now all that's left to do is to commission those that aren't yet
churning electricity and work out any other kinks.

"There's just little nitpicky stuff," said Phillip Duncan, project
manager for Kansas City Power & Light, the wind farm's owner. Weather
permitting, he said the work could be completed by early- to
mid-September, two to three weeks ahead of the scheduled Oct. 1 finish
date.

Work started last April on the 100.5-megawatt wind farm, which will
generate enough energy to power more than 30,000 homes. The tall,
white towers with their long blades quickly sprouted, and the last one
was completed amid little fanfare Aug. 19.

Still, the project hardly is going unnoticed. Locals have watched
closely as the work has progressed, and, in contrast to criticism by
some in the Flint Hills area to the notion of wind farms there, most
seem to like the new vista north of town.

"I think it looks nice to have all those windmills turning," said Ken
Domer, Spearville's mayor.

Duncan said more than 20 windmills are already generating power and
that the number will steadily increase as workers complete wiring and
take care of the other tasks to formally commission them. In the
meantime, the massive cranes that helped put the towers together are
being taken apart.

"Now it's just a matter of cleanup and disassembly,"
Duncan said.

The Spearville wind farm, Kansas' third, complements the 110-megawatt
Gray County Wind Farm near Montezuma and the 150-megawatt Elk River
Wind Power Project in Butler County.

A ceremony to formally dedicate the wind farm here will probably take
place in the fall..

Five wind farm towers up in Spearville

By Charlene Scott, Dodge City Globe, June 29, 2006

SPEARVILLE - Five of the wind farm towers are
up and scraping the skies over Spearville, and by the end of next week
12 will be installed, several of them actually in operation by week’s
end.

"It's exciting for us too," said Phil Duncan,
project director for Kansas City Power & Light, when informed of the
growing excitement of Spearville residents as each turbine is
completed.

One turbine - including its three rotors or blades - was
finished by Sunday evening, and by Monday at sunset, four more towers
and their blades had been erected all in a row with the first turbine.

"When they top them off, it doesn't take very long to put them
together," Duncan said of the towers, which are composed of two posts
- one on top of the other - until they are "topped off" by several
pieces of equipment.

"The third piece is the top of the tower, then comes the nacelle, and
then the rotors," Duncan explained. "They turn the blades until
they're vertical, and it takes something like 12 to 15 minutes to do
the entire job."

Pushed by the wind, the mammoth propellers of the Spearville Wind
Energy Facility - the wind farm's official name - twirled slowly
Wednesday, despite the fact that they are not in service yet.

"They have to work inside to make all the connections before the
turbines are operational," Duncan said. "Hopefully, we will have units
going and generating next week."

Several trucks transporting gigantic parts of the turbines park for
the night in the town of Kinsley east of Spearville.

"I believe the transport of these oversized loads cannot be done at
night," Duncan said. "So since they can't drive at night, the drivers
stay in Kinsley where they won't have to sleep in their cabs."

Two large cranes and a smaller rotor crane are in operation at the
wind farm site north of Spearville and Highway 54. The turbine nearest
to Spearville is located less than half a mile from the highway.

The second row of towers will include seven turbines; the third row
will have eight. The number will vary, depending on the location,
Duncan said.

"I think we are on schedule," he ventured optimistically. “The weather
has only affected the work on one Tuesday when we had high winds. The
workers make up any lost time on the weekends. Crews are ready and
waiting to come into work at any time."

The newly-completed towers are clearly visible from the town of Wright
10 miles away, but they disappear from view in Dodge City.

"We still hope to be finished by October," Duncan added. "We are
planning a dedication ceremony for the entire facility after all the
turbines are installed and in service."

A total of 67 General Electric turbines, each producing 1.5 megawatts,
will be installed by October. The entire project will generate 100.5
megawats.

Sprint Nextel will purchase the Spearville wind-generated electricity
for its Overland Park corporate campus near Kansas City. Company
officials estimate the wind power will save more than 175 million
pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere annually.

Powered by Wind

High winds greet wind farm inauguration

By Charlene Scott, Dodge City Globe, June 17, 2006

SPEARVILLE - Kansas City Power & Light orchestrated
the inauguration of the Spearville Wind Energy Facility on Friday, and
the wind section of that orchestra cooperated with gusts that reached
50 miles an hour, spitting dust into the shaking tent where Gov.
Kathleen Sebelius spoke.

"I think it's fitting to have high winds today," said Sebelius, who
once during the ceremony had to wipe her eyes when a whirlwind blew
clumps of dirt her way.

The governor spoke to more than 100 politicians, farmers and
Spearville citizens gathered in a field north of town littered with
turbine parts for the wind farm.

"Even when the Legislature is not in session, Kansas is the second
windiest state in the country," she said with a grin.

Sebelius was serenaded by a group of Spearville
grade school students, and she sang along with their rendition of
"This Land Is Your Land." Earlier, she had passed out candy to the
youths, asking them, "Do you like school?" And she added, "Keep
getting smarter; you are going to be running this state some day."

Sebelius joined officials from KCP&L, a subsidiary of Great Plains
Energy, in unveiling a "nacelle," a turbine generator that fits behind
the tower’s blades and stands 200 feet high. The KCP&L logo was on one
side of the nacelle, and the Spearville School Royal Lancers mascot on
the other.

The woman whose father, John Gilligan, served as
Ohio’s governor - making them the first father-daughter governors in
the nation - was one of the first to sign her name to a 121-foot-long
silver turbine blade that rested on bales of hay behind the tent,
reflecting the hot noon sun.

"I am delighted to be here on behalf of the citizens of Kansas to say
congratulations to the Spearville community," said Sebelius, named one
of the top five governors in the country by Time Magazine. "Kansas has
always been an energy state, traditionally oil and gas, but now we
also have the opportunity to use wind, ethanol and solar power."

Kansas farmers for years have harnessed the wind with their windmills,
the governor noted, pointing out, "It is good for national security to
produce our own energy and to have control of our energy in the
future."

Reminding her listeners that last year she supported the Kansas
Transmission Authority, she explained that "having the transmission
lines that get the winds to market where they are needed is a
challenge."

"We are not willing to wait for the federal government
to upgrade the grids, so we have stepped up and will have the transmission
lines," she said.

Sebelius called Kansas City Power & Light "a leader not only in the
state, but in the country," and she added, "I am eager to continue to
partner with them. Kansas City Power & Light and Greater Plains Energy
is a wonderful company, but they also are businessmen and women
looking for a good work force, a receptive community and good
partners. They would not be here unless they knew they would be
successful in the future."

The governor praised KCP&L for "stepping up to put $15 million into
the community" in coming years, and in his talk, Ford County
Commission Chairman Kim Goodnight said the wind farm initially would
generate $220,000 for the county and $108,000 for the Spearville
school district.

"These amounts will increase by 3 percent a year for the school
district and by 2.5 percent for the county," he reported. "This is a
great day and a great time to be living in Ford County."

Mike Chesser, chairman and CEO of Great Plains Energy, said, "We are
honored to be part of the governor's vision. The governor called for
1,000 megawatts by 2015, and these turbines will produce 100.5
megawatts."

"We believe this (the wind farm) will help us deal with these
problems," he said. "Composite energy is the way we are going to have
to go in the future."

The $166 million Spearville wind farm is the first large-scale wind
facility in Kansas to be owned and operated by a regulated electric
utility. Each turbine will be placed into service as soon as it is
erected and certified. Sprint Nextel will be the end user of a
significant portion of the wind-generated electricity.

Mike Zamzira brought greetings to the gathering from U.S. Rep. Jerry
Moran, noting that "last week, Moran joined in introducing a renewable
fuels resolution in the House."

The bipartisan bill, called the Renewable Fuels Act of 2005, contains
provisions similar to those in the comprehensive energy bill passed by
the Senate.

"This ceremony represents a real milestone for our company," said Bill
Downey, president and CEO of KCP&L. "This is the first project out of
the chute. There is a lot of equipment on the ground, and all 67
foundations are in place right now."

It took 1,822 truckloads of concrete to build the 67 foundations for
the wind towers, and each foundation required 272 cubic yards of
concrete. The height of each tower will be 262 feet, compared to the
tallest building in Kansas, the Epic Center in Wichita, which is 325
feet.

Two grade school boys practiced saying "Oh, my God" together in
anticipation as they rode a shuttle school bus to the site for the
inauguration ceremony. And when they finally saw the enormous turbine
blades up close, they looked at each other and uttered "Oh, my God!"
simultaneously.

"It's unbelievable," said Tom Feist, a Spearville gentleman who is
quite a bit older than the schoolboys. "I'm sure they will make a
success of it, one way or the other. I hope it's a harbinger of things
to come. We have plenty of wind, and they might as well use it."

"This is an exciting day, and it's going to be so great to see the
towers go up," added Bev Temaat, president of the Spearville School
Board.

Bruce Vierthaler, Spearville City Council president who welcomed
guests to the ceremony, presented the governor with a T-shirt from the
Spearville Township Library, saying, "We are going to have some towers
in the horizon that are going to be around here for a long time."

Downey echoed those sentiments, adding, "We are looking forward very
soon to see things moving skyward."

"It feels good," he said. "When it gets completed, we'll be just as
excited."

Officials from Kansas City Power & Light, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and a
host of others on Friday inaugurated the Spearville Wind Energy
Facility and touted the importance of developing renewable energy
resources.

Components for the 67 turbines continue to arrive and the
100.5-megawatt complex is expected to be fully operable by Oct. 1.

"We are well-positioned in the state to be leaders in the new fuel
age," said Sebelius, alluding to efforts around Kansas to develop
ethanol and solar power.

But for residents in and around Spearville, Friday's ceremony had
particular significance because it represented the culmination of
years of efforts. The event occurred, fittingly enough, amid wind
gusts of 30 mph.

"Everything's going great," said Froetschner, a cheerleader for the
project from the get-go. "I think it's a good day for Spearville."

Bev Temaat, head of the Spearville USD 381 school board, said
residents about four years ago started debating strategies to spur
Spearville forward. Community leaders discussed the possibility of
trying to lure an ethanol plant or a dairy processing firm, and
finally zeroed in on wind.

Froetschner initially tried to interest the developers of the Gray
County Wind Farm near Montezuma in pursuing the Spearville site. Then
officials from enXco, an Escondido, Calif., wind energy company, came
knocking, leading to KCP&L's decision last December to develop the
wind farm here. EnXco heads up efforts to build the $160 million
complex, though KCP&L, which is based in Kansas City, Mo., will own
it.

"A lot of people have told me it's the most exciting thing to happen
here in the last 10 to 15 years," Temaat said.

The wind farm will spread over a 5,000-acre agricultural expanse north
of U.S. 56. It will produce enough power to light 33,000 homes, though
Bill Downey, chief executive officer for KCP&L, said Sprint Nextel has
contracted to use a portion of the energy it generates.

Whatever the case - and notwithstanding the excitement of Friday's
ceremony - a lot of work must be completed before the first kilowatts
of energy hit the wires. The wind farm will be Kansas' third.

As of Friday, unconnected tower lengths, humongous blades and nacelles
- which help covert untamed wind into energy - sat scattered amid
cropland. All the concrete foundations are complete, and Phil Duncan,
KCP&L project manager, said the first turbine towers could start
sprouting up next week. The first completed tower, meanwhile, could
take form by the end of June.

Froetschner, drawn to the forlorn look of a wind turbine turning in
the wind, dreams of yet more wind farms.

"Hopefully," he said, "in a couple years there
can be another one."

Wind farm, company to energize county with $9.73M

By Tim Vandenack, Hutchinson News, June 10, 2006

The planned wind farm near Spearville will be
generating more than just energy.

For Ford County, Dodge City Community College, Spearville USD 381 and
four other taxing entities, it also will mean cold, hard cash - nearly
$15 million in all over the next 30 years.

Authorities from Ford County and Kansas City Power & Light finalized a
pact this week specifying how much the power company will distribute
to the local taxing entities. Wind farm operators do not pay property
taxes under a state incentive aimed at fostering development of
renewable energy. The money is meant as a gift, in lieu of the taxes
KCP&L otherwise would have to pay.

"I'm elated," said Kim Goodnight, chairman of the Ford County
Commission. "I think we've got a great partner that's coming into Ford
County."

Under terms of Thursday's accord, KCP&L will dole out $221,628 in 2007
to Ford County, Dodge City Community College, Spearville Township, the
Spearville Hospital District, the Ford County Fire District and the
Pawnee Watershed District. The total will increase by 2.5 percent each
year, reaching $453,541 by 2036, the last year of the agreement, and
resulting in an overall gift over 30 years of $9.73 million.

USD 381, governed by a separate accord, will get $108,372 in 2007,
according to Ford County officials. That number will increase by 3
percent per year, reaching $255,386 in 2036 and resulting in an
overall inflow of $5.16 million.

"We hit a home run," Goodnight said.

Of the total going to those entities aside from USD 381, Ford County
is getting the biggest chunk, 39.7 percent. It will get $87,986 in
2007 and $3.86 million over the life of the agreement.

Goodnight said the money will allow the county to do a measure of
long-range planning - maybe even help with the long-standing dream of
building a new Ford County Jail.

"I don't think we can build a jail with it, but we're getting closer,"
he said.

Next on the list is the community college, recipient of 30.8 percent
of the funds. It will get $68,262 in 2007 and $3 million over the 30
years.

The agreement with KCP&L parallels an agreement between Gray County
and FPL Energy of Florida, which owns the Gray County Wind Farm near
Montezuma. But the Ford County agreement is more generous.

FPL agreed to dole out funds to various Gray County entities over 10
years starting in 2003, also in lieu of the property taxes it does not
have to pay on the wind farm there. For 2005, the gift total was
$335,859, but it varies from year to year depending on the property
tax levies in the impacted taxing districts, according to Sheryl
Plotner, the Gray County treasurer. Gray County and Montezuma USD 371
get the lion's share of that money.

The Spearville plans call for construction of a $160 million,
100.5-megawatt wind farm - the third in Kansas - to provide energy for
KCP&L customers, who are clustered around Kansas City, Mo. Work
started in April, and an inauguration ceremony is set for next Friday,
which Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is to attend. The plant is to be fully
operational by Oct. 1.

Construction begins on Spearville wind farm

Project should be fully operational in October

By Tim Vandenack, Hutchinson News, April 13, 2006

SPEARVILLE - Work on a planned Ford County wind farm has commenced,
and the first turbine could be generating power by the end of June.

Phil Duncan, project manager for Kansas City Power &
Light, said Wednesday that work on a power substation and construction
of a series of gravel roads started unceremoniously last week north of
Spearville. The substation will ready the wind-generated power for
transmission to KCP&L customers, while the road system will provide
access to the planned network of 67 wind turbines.

"If you go, you'll see that there's a lot of activity going on," said
Duncan, who traveled to Ford County this week from company
headquarters in Kansas City, Mo.

Oversized trucks carrying the General Electric windmill parts should
start rumbling into Ford County by mid-May, and the 262-foot towers
will start sprouting by June. Duncan expects the first kilowatts of
power will buzz out of Ford County by the end of June, and the $160
million, 100.5-megawatt project should be fully operational by early
October.

EnXco, an Escondido, Calif.-based wind power company, has been
developing the project, and KCP&L decided last December to go with
their proposal after investigating sites throughout the state. KCP&L,
aiming to address growing energy demand in its coverage area, will own
the wind farm, called the Spearville Wind Generating Facility.

Though the road leading to the decision to actually build was at times
fraught with uncertainty, Duncan said construction should be a
relative snap, even easier than assembling a toy on Christmas Eve.

"You'd much rather put these wind towers up," he said. "There are much
fewer parts, and they go together easier."

As the wind farm access roads are completed - the complex is being
built on a 5,000-acre expanse of cropland and pastureland - the
massive concrete bases for the towers will be poured. Then the towers
and turbines - nearly 389 feet from the base to the tip of an extended
blade - will be put in place with the help of a pair of giant-sized
cranes.

"On a good day, they can put up three turbines," Duncan said. "It's
literally an assembly-line process."

About 100 workers will be employed at the peak of construction, and
the wind farm will employ five or six full-time workers when it is
finished. It will generate enough energy to power an estimated 33,000
homes.

KCP&L, eligible for a property tax break on the value of the wind farm
equipment under a state law aimed at encouraging wind power, plans to
make payments to Spearville USD 381 and other taxing entities here as
a goodwill gesture. Negotiations to determine the amount of the gifts,
however, still are under way.

The wind farm will be southwest Kansas' second and the state's third.
The 110-megawatt Gray County Wind Farm near Montezuma started
operating in 2001, while the 150-megawatt Elk River Wind Power Project
in Butler County started last year.

Spearville gets wound up for construction of energy farm

Building of $160M wind farm expected to get started in April

By Tim Vandenack, Hutchinson News, March 24, 2006

SPEARVILLE - For now, you could say Spearville is in
lull-before-the-storm mode.

Kansas City Power & Light late last year tabbed California-based wind
energy company enXco to build a $160 million, 100.5-megawatt wind farm
- Kansas' third - amid the wide-open fields north of town. The various
players have been hashing out plan details ever since, and now
officials say construction on the long-anticipated project could be
two weeks off.

"I'd say the first week of April," said Nancy Tronsgard, a project
coordinator at enXco's regional office in Minneapolis.

That'll mean hundreds of oversized trucks rumbling through Ford County
in coming months on their way to the construction site and a flurry of
work as the 67 giant turbines that'll sow the wind's power are
erected. EnXco is under contract to have the Spearville Wind Energy
Facility, as it's been dubbed, finished and generating power for KCP&L
customers by Oct. 1.

"It's going to be pretty hectic," said Ed Elam, the Ford County
administrator and a participant in some of the advance planning.

On the upside, the workers putting all the wind farm pieces together
will buy gas, food and other goods at Spearville outlets and stay in
area motels and rentals, boosting the local economy. Elam said their
numbers will blossom to about 40 as the project proceeds.

"If we get 20 to 30 percent of that, that'll be great," said Jose
Flores, owner of Spearville's only eatery, the Windmill Restaurant.

However, officials also are bracing for increased vehicle traffic.
Eight to 10 trucks will be needed to bring in each windmill, which
adds up to 536 to 670 vehicles in all, most of them oversized,
according to Elam. Another 18 tractor-trailers will be needed just to
haul the two jumbo-sized cranes that'll lift each 264-foot wind tower
into place and install the 127-foot blades.

"We're going to have a lot of semis jockeying around for position,"
Elam said.

Ford County Sheriff Dean Bush plans to assign extra patrols to the
work zone, at least initially, as a precaution. Still, he isn't
anticipating any problem in particular, though he worries about
gawkers. Elam notes that the truck traffic will be spread over the
span of the project.

As for the construction itself, Elam said workers will start with the
concrete bases where the towers will sit, each one 6 feet thick and 50
feet across. As those dry, other crew members will place the towers
and blades while the concrete workers continue with additional bases.

"It's just going to look like an erector set, one right after the
other, right after the other," Elam said.

The towers themselves will sit in an agricultural area measuring about
three miles by four miles, with the southernmost ones sitting about a
half-mile off U.S. 50. With a blade fully extended, the towers will
stand 391 feet tall, and Domer said they will be visible from Dodge
City, 15 miles to the west. The towers at the Gray County Wind Farm
near Montezuma stand at 294 feet.

The Spearville project, which will generate enough energy to power up
to 30,000 homes, aims to address growing demand among customers of
Kansas City, Mo.-based KCP&L.

County commissioners reappoint chairman, approve beer licenses

By Rebecca Aistrup Gerber, Dodge City Globe, January 10, 2006

[...unrelated info deleted...]

In other business:

The commission discussed the first and second phases
of a proposed wind farm north of Spearville.

The wind energy company EnXco has provided the development and
planning of the wind farm and has sold the power generated by Phase I
of the project to Kansas Power and Light, said Ford County
administrator Ed Elam.

Plans for Phase I include a 10-square mile area north of Spearville,
in which more than 100 turbines will be constructed to produce about
100 megawatts of energy. EnXco is also working Phase II, which
includes adding additional wind turbines to the farm.

The commission’s next regular meeting will be on Tuesday, Jan. 17 due
to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Reach Rebecca Aistrup Gerber at (620) 408-9931 or e-mail her at
rebecca.gerber@dodgeglobe.com.

Company selects Ford Co. site for new wind farm

By Tim Vandenack, The Hutchinson News, December 14, 2005

SPEARVILLE - Let the wind blow.

Kansas City Power & Light said Tuesday that it had selected a site
near Spearville in Ford County for construction of a 100.5-megawatt
wind farm, generating excitement and glee from local leaders.

"I think it's just a wonderful thing to happen to Spearville. Maybe
one of the greatest things to happen to Spearville in recent history,"
said Ken Domer, the town's mayor.

EnXco, the Escondido, Calif.-based firm that has been developing the
project, will build the farm on a 5,000-acre agricultural expanse
north of Spearville starting next spring or summer, with an estimated
completion date of Oct. 1. The wind farm would be the third in Kansas.

"As part of our diverse energy generation portfolio, the Spearville
Wind Energy Facility will help provide a clean, affordable source of
energy for years to come," KCP&L CEO Bill Downey said in a statement.

The Kansas City, Mo., company announced a long-range plan last year
aimed at meeting growing power demand, and the wind farm, which would
serve the firm's customers, is part of the effort. The project has an
estimated price tag of $160 million.

KCP&L examined eight sites around Kansas, but the broad backing in
Ford County seemed to weigh heavily in the Spearville project's favor.
Wind power projects in eastern Kansas, particularly the Flint Hills
area, have been the target of criticism by foes who say wind turbines
would mar the zone's natural beauty.

"Spearville is an ideal location for this facility because it offers
strong wind resources, meets our environmental guidelines and has the
support of landowners and the community," Downey said.

Nancy Tronsgard, an enXco project coordinator, called the Ford County
locals "great" to work with.

The Spearville wind farm will join the 110-megawatt Gray County Wind
Farm near Montezuma as the only large-scale wind power generators in
southwest Kansas. Portland, Ore.-based PPM Energy is building a
150-megawatt wind farm in Butler County in southeast Kansas, to be
operable by year's end, and numerous other projects around Kansas are
being considered.

"We're excited about all the possibilities and the economic
development it will create," said Ford County Commissioner Kim
Goodnight.

He and Domer note the construction jobs to be created by the
Spearville project and the impact on the local economy. When
completed, Goodnight estimates the wind farm will employ 10 to 15
full-time workers.

What's more, enXco has been in talks with Ford County officials about
a payment to some of the local taxing entities in lieu of property
taxes. Wind-generating equipment is exempt from taxation in Kansas, a
perk aimed at fomenting development of wind energy.

Goodnight said he suspects the total payment to Spearville USD 381,
Ford County and three other smaller taxing entities could approach
$300,000 per year, about what the operators of the Gray County wind
farm dole out there. Still, details have yet to be worked out.

Aside from locals, the wind farm plans generated praise from Gov.
Kathleen Sebelius and Audubon of Kansas Executive Director Ron
Klataske, who said the proposal doesn't appear to pose any major
environmental threats.

Sixty-seven towers in all are to be put up, according to Tronsgard,
each generating about 1.5 megawatts of power and each measuring 389
feet from the ground to the tip of a fully extended blade.

KCP&L picks developer

By Steve Everly, The Kansas City Star, December 14, 2005

Kansas City Power & Light has picked the developer
and location for a 100-megawatt wind energy project in Kansas.

The $160 million wind farm will be built by Enxco Inc. near Spearville,
Kan., which is just northeast of Dodge City. Bill Downey, chief
executive officer of KCP&L, said it would be the first project in KCP&L’s
plans to meet increased demand for power — plans that include a new
coal-fired power plant near Weston.

The wind farm should be in service by Oct. 15 next year.

The Spearville Wind Energy Facility will consist of 67 General
Electric turbines spread out over 5,000 acres. The site is expected to
have wind sufficient to power the turbines about half the time and
provide electricity for 33,000 homes.

The decision to build in Kansas furthers the state's efforts to be a
prime location for wind energy. Only North Dakota and Texas are
considered to have more potential in generating wind power. According
to the Kansas Energy Information Center, the state has 253 megawatts
of wind power in operation or under construction, and more than 2,000
megawatts of wind power had been proposed.

"Kansas is one of the top wind-producing states in the country, and
KCP&L's investment in this project is a giant step toward Kansas
harnessing our considerable renewable energy resources," Gov. Kathleen
Sebelius said in a statement.

The Spearville facility will be built by Enxco, a California company
that is affiliated with EDF Energies Nouvelles, a French company.
Enxco has been in business since 1987 and is the fourth-largest owner
of wind energy installations in the United States. The Spearville
facility will be owned and operated by KCP&L.

An Enxco executive said Tuesday that the company had been working with
the Spearville community for a couple of years to develop a wind
project and looked forward to capitalizing on the wind resource with
KCP&L.

"Enxco is delighted to have been awarded with this milestone project
for KCP&L," said David Corchia, Enxco's chief executive officer.

Wind energy is generally favored by environmentalists as a renewable
source for power, but wind projects have created controversy, in part
for disturbing sensitive sites such as wetlands and bird nesting
areas. KCP&L had meetings with groups discussing potential locations,
and the utility said Tuesday that the Spearville site does not include
irreplaceable prairie landscapes, wetlands or critical wildlife
habitat, nor does it appear to be a major stop for migratory birds.

"I can't give enough accolades for how KCP&L has gone about this,"
said Ron Klataske, executive director of Audubon of Kansas.

The Nature Conservancy also praised the company's wind project. The
Sierra Club in Missouri said it is still opposed to the 850-megawatt
coal-fired plant that KCP&L plans to build near Weston, but it
supports the wind facility.

"We would encourage them to do more of that," said Wallace McMullen,
the group’s clean-air chairman.

Unlike some utilities, KCP&L will own and operate the Spearville
facility instead of buying wind power from another owner. And KCP&L
plans call for the possibility of a second 100-megawatt wind farm.

Mike Chesser, chairman of Great Plains Energy Inc., KCP&L's parent,
said a decision on a second wind project hadn’t been made. But he said
it would be seriously considered, including a look at sites in Kansas
and Missouri.

Great Plains’ stock closed Tuesday at $28.97, down 17 cents.

First glance

- The Spearville Wind Energy Facility will consist of 67 General
Electric turbines spread out over 5,000 acres. The site is expected to
have wind sufficient to power the turbines about half the time and
provide electricity for 33,000 homes.

School district might examine wind power as way to
cut high school's energy costs

By Tim Vandenack, The Hutchinson News, January 12, 2005

DODGE CITY - Dodge City school officials are looking
into the possibility of setting up a wind turbine or two to help power
the high school here and trim energy costs.

An energy consultant looking into the matter still
needs to clarify a few points before school officials formally consider
a plan to carry out a feasibility study. But it already has piqued
interest among some.

"Given the high energy consumption of that
building, I think we would be remiss if we didn't look at all
possibilities to save money," said Mark Orebaugh, a member of the
Dodge City USD 443 school board. "To me, it's a no-brainer."

Morris Reeves, the energy manager for USD 443, said
the high school consumes $350,000 worth of energy per year and accounts
for half of the district's power use.

"Once you've recouped the initial cost, it's profit
from there on," he said of a wind generator.

Nonetheless, Reeves still must study whether any special
city or Kansas Corporation Commission rules would apply to such a venture
before the board signs off on a feasibility study, perhaps at its Jan.
24 meeting. And, assuming a green light, a cost-benefit analysis would
have to be conducted to make sure wind power is, indeed, financially viable.

Whatever the case, wind power probably only
would supplement energy provided by Aquila, not replace it.

Olathe school officials and the Southeast Kansas
Education Service Center, or Greenbush, near Girard in southeast Kansas,
also have investigated implementation of wind energy, said Jim Ploger,
the KCC energy manager.

But studies at those locales indicate wind resources are
insufficient while Dodge City, like western Kansas in general, sits in a
relatively windswept zone. Reeves added that Dodge City High School sits on
a high point geographically, increasing project potential that much more.

"It's exciting to see people thinking outside the
box," said Ploger.

The study here, which would be carried out by the
Mid-American Manufacturing Technical Center, a unit of the Kansas State
University Engineering Department, would cost $3,730 and take five weeks,
according to the project proposal.

Such things as the number of turbines that would be
required would have to be determined. But Donna Johnson, a wind energy
consultant with Pinnacle Technology in Lawrence, estimated one
"good-sized" windmill could handle the high school's
energy needs, perhaps two.

Lack of transmission lines has hindered construction of
large-scale wind farms in western Kansas similar to the one in Gray County.
But because of the smaller size of the Dodge City proposal, such an absence
would not figure as heavily.

The "best models" for wind energy at the
school district level are in Iowa, owing to support among at least one local
utility there and the general public, said Johnson. Aside from providing energy,
she said, turbines can serve as teaching tools in math,